41 



and are appointed on satisfactorily completing their course. The whole 

 question of the recruitment and training of Forest Officers for service in 

 various parts of the Empire is now under consideration, the aim being to 

 furnish the best possible training in the higher branches of forestry : it is 

 hoped that Kenya Colony will benefit by this scheme, for it is hardly necessary 

 to mention that the future success of forest work in the Colony must depend 

 largely on the building up of a staff of controlling officers possessing the 

 highest professional ability. 



Foresters are recruited in the United Kingdom, and are required to pro- 

 duce satisfactory evidence of a training in forestry. The Forest of Dean 

 School has furnished several of the present staff, and judging by results the 

 training there has proved satisfactory, though a somewhat more extended 

 course in surveying would be an advantage in the case of Foresters for 

 Kenya : this is a point which I propose to take up in England. The train- 

 ing of the Foresters is, and should be, essentially of a practical nature. 



For the Non-European or Subordinate staff there is no training institution 

 at present, and it is doubtful if the time has yet come for the establishment 

 of such an institution, though this is a matter which will require to be taken 

 up later as the work of the Department develops. In the meantime a great 

 deal could be done to improve the utility of the native staff by attaching the 

 more promising men to selected Foresters for practical training. Men so 

 trained could be usefully employed, under supervision, on more responsible 

 work than they do at present, such as measuring, marking, thinning, etc. 

 Inducements in the shape of higher pay should be offered to men who undergo 

 such a training and pass a practical test at the end of it. 



53. PROPOSED GRADING, ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH. - - The present 

 grading of the Administrative branch is defective in that there are insuffi- 

 cient prospects for efficient officers of long service who through no fault of 

 their own, but by reason of their position on the list, have failed to reach 

 the rank of Conservator or Senior Assistant Conservator of Forests. Such 

 cases are not likely to be frequent, but the fact that they may occur does not 

 tend to increase the attractiveness of service. A more even grading from 

 the lowest to the highest posts is therefore suggested, with an efficiency bar 

 preventing all but the specially deserving officers from reaching the more 

 highly paid posts. 



At present, Assistant Conservators, on appointment, are placed on pro- 

 bation for 3 years, and draw annual increments during that period. It is 

 recommended that increments during the probationary period be abolished as 

 illogical, and that any saving effected thereby be devoted towards improving 

 the pay of the higher grades. In future, the work and responsibility of the 

 Conservator of Forests will increase considerably, and it is not unreasonable 

 to suggest that the Head of a department which administers a valuable 

 State property should receive a salary equal to that of the Heads of the other 

 principal scientific and technical Departments. The value of the forests 

 warrants the employment of a highly-trained and efficient staff, and in order 

 to attract and retain officers of the right type, who have received an expensive 

 University education, reasonably good prospects should be offered. The 

 Director of Public Works and the Principal Medical Officer receive a salary 

 of 1,200, and the Director of Agriculture one of 1,400 a year : it is sug- 

 gested, therefore, that the salary of the Conservator of Forests be increased 

 to 1,200 a year. 



In order to provide for a revised grading on the lines indicated above, 

 it is proposed that the post of Senior Assistant Conservator be abolished and 

 that the staff be divided into three classes (1) Conservator, (2) Deputy Con- 

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